Living on Nob Hill The Northwest District
Living on Nob Hill The Northwest District
Cradled on the south by West Burnside, and the I-405 on the East, the northern border is made up of North West Front Avenue, North West Nicolai Street and St. Helens Road. Finally, on the west, the area is stretched against Forest and Macleay Parks. While residents refer to the Northwest district as “Trendy-third Avenue,” others have taken to calling it Nob Hill in commemoration of the San Francisco neighborhood. It is true that the trendiest shopping you can do in Portland has its home on ten blocks of Northwest 23rd Avenue. People-watching is a favorite of residents who also enjoy browsing the many boutique stores. Walk a few blocks until you reach Northwest 21st Avenue, and you will have entered the territory of the edgy concert goers who delight in the many colorful posters and placards the bands put up. Famous resident Bill Walton from the Blazers lived there and enjoyed the many different faces of the Northwest District.
If you are wondering just where to go shopping and also which eateries to frequent, the ten blocks on 23rd Street are bound to have something that will excite your taste and taste buds. Book stores are nestled next to clothing boutiques, and there are even some mini malls. The Northwest District is connected to downtown with the new streetcar line, allowing you to find even more spots to your liking. Entertainment is also part and parcel of the Northwest experience. If you enjoy people-watching, and the interaction with interesting people, environmental enthusiast, and the simply thrifty, you will price the interaction you may have at the Fred Meyer Stadium Branch Supermarket.
To adequately understand the rich history of the area, it is important to realize that one area of the Northwest District, dubbed Slabtown, actually has roots in the past of the city of Portland itself. Once home to the poor and the working class, many inhabitants were not able to afford properly cut firewood but instead had to make do cheap slabs of wood from local sawmills, hence giving the 50 square block area the name Slabtown. In the past a derogatory term, the area is now becoming more and more modern and sought after.
Inspiring a bar and music lounge to pick up the name, the largely unused name is now simply a relic of times past: of the St. Patrick’s Church on 1623 NW 19th Avenue which ministered to the poor, of the well to do who lived closer to West Burnside Street at 15th and 16th Avenues, and of the “Slabtown” sign which is a reminder to the area’s past.
At this point in time you will be able to see town housed and condos being built, and yet it appears that the progress is happening so quickly that many feel a restraining hand from the city needs to be employed to not lose the overall charm of the area. Consider the Pettygrove Street townhouse development which contains units priced at $500,000 and it becomes quite apparent what residents are concerned over. What once used to be famous as the birthplace for the band the Dandy Warhols is now becoming known as the area where $689,000 row houses are being sold – in all fairness, however, the developers are working hard at maintaining the historic building, such as the Lane-Miles Standish building which used to be the home of a printing business on NW 19th Avenue and Raleigh Street for over 85 years and is now being remodeled to house five levels of residences as well as office spaces.
It is obvious that the area is inching its way away from industrial to residential, and Northwest District Neighborhood Association is keeping an open dialog via a weblog with residents and designers. Located only four driving minutes from downtown, its mature trees and parks give way to hilly areas and winding roads. Lots of street parking gives streets the illusion of being narrow while wide sidewalks accommodate leisurely strollers as well as harried executives. 90.3 percent of residents rated the livability of the area as good or very good in 2005 and results of that study may be found online.
Public transportation is available via TriMet where six bus routes go through Northwest and where the streetcar line travels from the Pearl District on NW Northrup Street, NW 23rd Street, and NW Lovejoy Street. The number of inhabitants in 2000 was about 11,455 on 849 acres which translates to a population density of 13 people per acre. According to the census there were 7,567 households which reflected 13 percent of homeowners and 85 percent of renters, with the remaining two percent being undeclared. 12.7 percent of residents report in as being non-Caucasian. Crimes in 2005 per 1,000 people were about 112, with there being 44 violent crimes, 68 burglaries of residential properties, and a staggering 170 car thefts.
Three supermarkets cater to the needs of the residents, as do two hardware stores. 16 coffee shops ensure that a leisurely pace is kept by all. In addition to purchasing your food at Fred Meyers, you will be able to purchase great quality products at Trader Joe’s on NW Glisan Street, Elephant’s Delicatessen off West Burnside, and City Market on NW 21st Avenue. Eateries are found almost everywhere, and you have your pick of high end gourmet fare to street vendors selling pizza. Enjoy the fare at Balvo, Bewon, the well known Cafe Mino, Carlyle, Ken’s Artisan Bakery which has developed quite a loyal following, Paley’s Place, and also Wildwood, to name but a few.
The community center and health club known as the Friendly House at NW 26th Avenue and NW Savier is as well known as the Mavericks Sports Club at NW 20th Avenue and NW Overton. If you prefer a leisurely stroll in a park, you have basically two choices in the Northwest District: Wallace Park is found at NW 25th Avenue and NW Raleigh Street and Couch Park is located at NW 19th Avenue and NW Glisan Street, the latter may be small but it contains a much beloved dog park! Add to this the ability to visit Forest Park and Washington Park just outside the limits of the Northwest District, and it becomes very obvious that outdoorsy Portlanders simply love the area!
The area’s numbers of residents are made up mostly of young singles but are so diversified to include residents of all ages, as a trip to the branch of the Multnomah County Library at 2300 NW Thurman Street will soon evidence. SUVs are refreshingly absent from the area, and cars are not as numerous since parking is a serious problem in the area.
Parents send their children to Chapman Elementary School, West Sylvan Middle School, and Lincoln High School. You will be able to find out how the schools are doing by perusing their annual report cards online. While apartments are still the best way to live in the area, there are a few single family homes. Yet the development trend definitely leans toward condos and also town homes. In 2005 the median price of a home sold in the Northwest district was $327,500 while the average selling price was $415,129. The one year growth was 11 percent while the five year price growth was a negative 16 percent. This latter figure is most likely driven by the market’s being flooded with new and redeveloped condos which quickly saturated the market. Condo prices increased by about 27.2 percent, with an average sales price of $233,800 in 2005 as compared to only $ 183,800 in 2004.